April 30, 2012

Paul Silas out as Charlotte Bobcats coach

Paul Silas will not be back to coach next season with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Silas will not get a new contract, following a 7-59 record in the season just completed. That means the Bobcats will hire their fifth coach since the franchise’s inception in 2004.

Silas took over for Larry Brown in December of 2010. He finished last season 25-29.During that season the Bobcats lifted the interim tag from Silas’s job description and gave him a contract extension through the end of the season just completed.

Silas, 68, has coached four NBA franchises (the Clippers, the Hornets, the Cavaliers and the Bobcats) over 12 seasons. His all-time coaching record is 387-488.

The Bobcats are expected to quickly engage in a coaching search. Potential candidates could include former Portland Trail Blazers coach (and one-time N.C. State great) Nate McMillan and former New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. Another possibility could be Orlando Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing, who has close ties to Bobcats owner Michael Jordan.

Ewing, among the best centers in NBA history, played on the original Dream Team withJordan. As players they both were represented by agent David Falk.

Silas’ best accomplishment as Bobcats coach was probably the development of Gerald Henderson, arguably the Bobcats’ best player. Henderson wasn’t playing much for Brown, and Silas went to work on the former Duke star’s confidence. When the Bobcats traded Gerald Wallace to Portland two months into Silas’ tenure, Silas inserted Henderson into the starting lineup. He’s been a fixture there ever since.

During Silas’s 1 ½ seasons with the team the front office chose to dismantle the roster that reached the playoffs in the spring of 2010. After trading Wallace, primarily for draft picks, the Bobcats sent Stephen Jackson to Milwaukee in a three-team trade that allowed the Bobcats to draft big man Bismack Biyombo.

While those moves made long-term sense, it saddled Silas with one of the least-experienced, least-talented rosters in NBA history. As injuries mounted and Silas was forced to play rookies Biyombo and Kemba Walker heavy minutes, the Bobcats lost their last 23 games and finished with the worst winning percentage (.106) in NBA history.

Silas hoped he’d be succeeded as Bobcats coach by his son, Stephen, his lead assistant. Stephen Silas filled in as head coach several games the latter part of this season, with the blessing of the front office.

Comments

Best move the Bobcats made all season. I don't care what "talent" you have, you can't justify bringing back a coach that leads your team to the worst record in league history.

Posted by: PantherDave | Apr 30, 2012 2:57:48 PM

Hopefully we don't get another coach who falls asleep during games.

Posted by: James | Apr 30, 2012 3:02:52 PM

Please do not hire Ewing.. Mcmillan would be perfect.

Posted by: Jason Warren | Apr 30, 2012 3:03:37 PM

Blaming Coach Silas for this years record would be like getting mad at your car for running out of gas.

Posted by: BigMike | Apr 30, 2012 3:04:45 PM

They shouldve done this well before the all star break. Silas had zero energy this season no matter what the talent level of the team was!

Posted by: j | Apr 30, 2012 3:07:39 PM

I'm sure Silas is relieved to get outta there.

Posted by: Eric | Apr 30, 2012 3:08:52 PM

Silas seemed not to be able to thrive in a rebuilding environment.

Posted by: BB | Apr 30, 2012 3:09:00 PM

Is it Silas's fault the team did so poorly? No.

But you just can't bring back a coach after this type of season. Need fresh a fresh perspective.

Hate it for him - but a good move.

Posted by: Tom Bombadil | Apr 30, 2012 3:09:12 PM

Now get rid of the so-called "talent." Let's start will Maggette and Henderson...both are worthless...

Posted by: Bubba Sparx | Apr 30, 2012 3:10:21 PM

You guys ever seen Space Jam?

Posted by: Michael Jordan | Apr 30, 2012 3:11:02 PM

I agree with earlier post-this move should have been done well before All- Star break...Let's go D' Antoni-I like the up-tempo offense--Next change back to Hortnets!--Follow me on twitter Jtoom@Buffalowhat

Posted by: Jktoomer | Apr 30, 2012 3:11:39 PM

NONE, ZERO, NADA, ZIP, ANY of this was due to any fault of Paul Silas. I'm surprised he did not tell Jordan to kiss off halfway through the season. I feel bad for him but in the long run he is probably going to be happy to be away from this train wreck of a team.

Posted by: SteveS | Apr 30, 2012 3:19:22 PM

Please bring in Ewing! Especially if Oakley can come back, they would be great for developing our big men and the team would instantly get much more relevant!

Posted by: bronsyn | Apr 30, 2012 3:20:05 PM

1 vote for D'Antoni

Posted by: Tony | Apr 30, 2012 3:20:35 PM

Great comment about blaming the car for running out of gas.

Kind of sad to see Silas fired. But it was the right decision. As the year progressed, he seemed to distant himselves during timeouts often not even talking to the players.

This is perhaps the most important offseason for the Bobcats. Jordan/Cho/Higgins need to hit a home run with hiring the next coach. And we'll all keep our fingers crossed about the draft lottery ....

Posted by: Axis of RAGE | Apr 30, 2012 3:21:36 PM

Paul Silas should have pulled a Krzyzewski and gone down with a back injury. Do you really expect to get talented players in the draft when the guy calling the shots is the same one who made Kwame Brown the #1 pick? (full disclosure: I'm a proud UNC grad but recognize that playing talent doesn't always turn into coaching or managerial talent.)

Bring in Donnie Walsh. He's a proven basketball executive who knows how to build a team.

Posted by: Gary | Apr 30, 2012 3:23:52 PM

let's give Brian Shaw a chance. He had to learn something from the zen master.

Posted by: eric b | Apr 30, 2012 3:24:18 PM

Jordan is afraid to spend the money needed to get good talent for the Bobcats!

Posted by: john mackin | Apr 30, 2012 3:24:39 PM

Why in god's name would anyone offer up Nate McMillan as a head coach here? Much less saying he "would be perfect" - Jason Warren. Guy hasn't been out of the first round in 8 years with a far better roster than we have. And he let a Raymond Felton led team mutiny against him. If you can't control Felton, one of the nice guys, how can you want him in Charlotte. Would be the worst decision ever.

Bubba Sparxx, you must not watch a lof of basketball. But Henderson is the only one on our team that can ball.

Posted by: Panthers 24 | Apr 30, 2012 3:32:37 PM

If they hire Stephen Silas I'm through with them.

Posted by: apauldds | Apr 30, 2012 3:34:01 PM

Is son Stephen off the radar?

Posted by: eduardo | Apr 30, 2012 3:34:53 PM

No surprise here.

Posted by: Texas801 | Apr 30, 2012 3:35:09 PM

I agree that you can't blame Paul Silas for all of the Bobcats woes. I have always admired him as a coach and as a person.

HOWEVER, I am grateful for this move for the sole reason that it hopefully assures that Stephen Silas will NOT become head coach.

The one thing Silas did that I did not agree with was letting his son "learn on the job" by coaching an NBA team. Hopefully we can get someone with a little more experience and ability and not be stuck with Stephen Silas now.

Posted by: Chris | Apr 30, 2012 3:38:52 PM

D'Antoni won't have the personnel to go uptempo (how do you speed up losing?), Ewing? (Can you say cronyism? his first gig and he will not say one word in opposition to Jordan.) McMillan brings credentials and coahing passion and a Coach of the Year trophy for his office. Jordan and Higgins would at least hear his words to get him some better players. If Henderson was the "best player" than there were no players. Got to start with the leadership (coach) and the mindset to win will follow.

Posted by: Brian | Apr 30, 2012 3:41:51 PM

Yes the Bobcats had a tough awful season. Silas was put in a tough situation that unfortunately was not his fault. The Bobcats had a lot of injuries which contributed to the chemistry on the team's performance. As far as the past comments, Gerald Henderson has improved over his first three seasons in the league and I give Silas credit for challenging him. Derrick Brown also played really well this year and hopefully will be back. Silas also had to play the two rookies (Kemba and Biyombo)a lot which led to some inexperienced play and mistakes.
The Bobcats need a coach that has a little more fire behind him. Early candidates (Nate McMillan, Mike D'Antoni, Stan Van Gundy (if let go after the season), Patrick Ewing, hey what about Phil Jackson??? doubt it.
This probably will be the first of many changes that the Bobcats will make leading up to the beginning of the 2012-13 season and it had to start somewhere. This offseason will probably be the most important in the franchise's young history from the draft to the free agent signing period. One change that needs to be is the changing of the team identity. The HORNETS need to come back to Charlotte and by the past few stories that the Observer has ran it will bring fans, profits and attitude back to this city.
Hey I deal with people all the time that live in Charlotte and also outside of city. When I ask them what they remember most about the past history of Charlotte, 90% of them say HORNETS!!!

Posted by: Brad S. | Apr 30, 2012 3:47:11 PM

I say D'antoni for right now. he won't get the championships but he will get the guys scoring, confidence, whatever. DJ, biyombo, hendo, mullens, walker, thomas, brown would all thrive in that system and they're the only guys that matter.

we focus all the free agency and drafting on defensive strengthed players and hand them to an offensive coach. bring in defensive assistants. or at least let these kids develop offensively under d'antoni and in 4 or 5 years when they are prime contenders, you bring in a grittier coach to get the job done if it doesn't like mike can.

it's such a good match to our personnel and i know it'll never happen. remember how raw amare was? remember how raw biz IS? remember how much better amare got under d'antoni?

This team will be the Supersonics by 2015...unless we get a new owner/new team name/and winning product on the floor...when the lottery is determined, if we do not end up with the #1 pick. I think this team is gone to Seattle.

I just looked into my crystal ball and it has revealed to me that the next coach of the Bobcats will be...Stan Van Gundy. Perfect fit and a great coach, he'll be available before too long and hopefully we'll have the #1 pick to dangle in front of him. MJ, MAKE THIS MOVE!!!

Posted by: Shane P | Apr 30, 2012 3:54:55 PM

Hate to see Silas leave. Especially after seeing how he came in after Larry Brown left and actually brought some spark to the team. Unfortunately this year, Jordan gave him 15 cents and asked him to make a dollar out of it.

But age is a factor and it may be time to bring in a good young Coach.

Posted by: Smitty | Apr 30, 2012 3:58:23 PM

In other news...I hope they change the name to the Hornets

Posted by: Robert Johnson | Apr 30, 2012 4:01:54 PM

A coaching staff of Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson and James Naismith couldn't have won with this team. I felt bad for Paul Silas - he simply wasn't given a team that could be competitive.

Posted by: GSO Cats Fan | Apr 30, 2012 4:02:52 PM

Stephen Silas did a great job with the lineups and was full of energy and had a positive attitude which is what we need. I wouldn't mind bringing him back because I feel as though he will really let his guys play and keep a positive mentality regardless of the outcome. D'Antoni wouldn't be bad as he brings that face paced offense suitable to the Bobcats roster. I really like Ewing though as he mentored Dwight, I feel like he could help Bismack reach his full potential.

Posted by: basketballiq | Apr 30, 2012 4:03:10 PM

i dont want d'antoni because he doesn't teach defense. even though he will have a young team that will run and gun, i dont see how we can be a contender unless he teaches defense.

i dont know how well nate mcmillan can develop young players. if we had a veteran team, he would be a good pick up but as for teaching young players how to play in the NBA, i dont know if he has it

maybe patrick ewing, and hopefully he can persuade D-12 to come with him

maybe theres something wrong with brian shaw and that was the reason lakers didn't hire him. if he can come and install the triangle offense, i think we have a young enough team which should help us moving forward

Posted by: Dave O | Apr 30, 2012 4:05:21 PM

the charlotte john blog > armanti edwards

Posted by: thegamer | Apr 30, 2012 4:08:06 PM

Paul Silas is out...now, to get rid of Gana Diop, DJ White, Cory Higgins, Derrick Brown, trade DJ Augustin, buy out the contract of Matt Carroll, and start over

Paul Silas made a horrible mistake letting his son Stephen Silas coach the team. The players expected Paul Silas to be their coach, not somebody using them to gain experience.The Bobcats should go after Brain Shaw who worked under Phil Jackson. He is a young coach who could help fix the offense.

Posted by: Jon | Apr 30, 2012 4:11:53 PM

Someone calling the Hornets fans "screamers" is not the brightest of the bunch considering there was a poll done where 10000 people voted for the Hornets name which is 84 percent of the people who voted. Also, the choices cougars, and I don't care had MORE VOTES than the Bobcats name. I promise this until they change that name 97 percent of this area NC/SC WILL NOT SUPPORT THIS TEAM. So yes they can throw away the Hornets "Screamers" but just means you throw away the whole area MORON.

Posted by: JP | Apr 30, 2012 4:14:38 PM

Silas wasn't the problem,he wasn't the solution either. Next they need to unload some players,3/4 of the team to be exact.

Posted by: digal704 | Apr 30, 2012 4:18:54 PM

Now let's get a new team owner.

Posted by: wilsurto | Apr 30, 2012 4:24:22 PM

Talk about being set up to fail. This was pretty classless by the Bobcats. If Paul Silas shoulders the blame for this season, then shouldn't Rod Higgins have been fired first. How the heck is he worth a single sheet of toilet paper?! LOL

Posted by: MrMixx | Apr 30, 2012 4:31:26 PM

It's the right move...

...but MJ burns another bridge.

Posted by: George Hanson | Apr 30, 2012 4:32:34 PM

To bad Mike Jordan can't be replaced. He ran the Washington Wizards in the ground and he's doing the same thing to the Bobcats.

Posted by: Billyjimbobjoe | Apr 30, 2012 4:35:16 PM

Jeff Van Gundy is coming back! One things for sure, we won't give up 70 points in the paint anymore!

Posted by: Get Real | Apr 30, 2012 4:37:36 PM

Silas did not take @#%$ off of Tyrus Thomas.

Posted by: Courtside | Apr 30, 2012 4:44:49 PM

Draft Davis (or Robinson if we don't win the lottery) and trade Augustine and Thomas for second round picks. I would then start Walker, Henderson, Maggette, Davis/Robinson and Kaman (our FA splash). Mullens, White and Biyombo would get minutes as backups at four and five. Keep Brown to backup Maggette and draft a combo guard at the top of the second round (Jenkins from Vandy would be great). Use the two obtained second rounders (Augustine and Thomas) for a wing (Will Barton or Darius Miller) and Festus Ezeli if he is on the board (if he isn't then pick another wing). Amnesty Diop... Grab Banard James and Jon Kreft as rookie free agents to add more bodies in the post. Make a push for FA Jannero Pargo and Jonny Flynn as backups for Walker at the point.

Posted by: Dom | Apr 30, 2012 4:56:38 PM

You'd have to be out of your mind to take this job. You'd have to be out of your mind to come here to play as a free agent. This organization is hopelessly inept.

Paul Silas is a good coach and an even better man. Larry Brown is a Hall of Fame coach. Look what this organization did to both of them - traded away all their best players and then fired the coaches for not being able to squeeze blood from rocks.

Unbelievable.

Posted by: Freddy | Apr 30, 2012 4:58:03 PM

Phil Jackson is on his way!!!

Posted by: tbrown | Apr 30, 2012 5:02:35 PM

Sad - though not surprising - news.
The Bobcats' failure this season is the management's work, not Paul Silas' fault.
If Phil Jackson had this roster this season, the only difference would've been that he would've resigned, most likely by mid-season; he wouldn't have taken this misery a whole season, as Paul Silas did.

After putting him in this "can't win" position, Jordan refused to give coach Silas the chance to end his career with a better season (since next season MUST be a better one). Really classy, like so much else from MJ.

Posted by: Sandy | Apr 30, 2012 5:03:47 PM

Give us back our Hornets !!!!!!!

Posted by: Big chub a dub | Apr 30, 2012 5:06:18 PM

Tha Panthers will win more games than the Boobcats...Lol

Posted by: john thomas | Apr 30, 2012 5:14:20 PM

if you want hornets, put honey on ya head and go find a hornets nest...
say no to the damn buzz!

Posted by: bob johnson | Apr 30, 2012 5:37:34 PM

Not one of the candidates you mention has EVER won ANYTHING. Why would any of those rejects be any better than Silas? They wouldn't.

And everybody shut the hell up about the Hornets. IT'S NOT 2001 ANYMORE! THE HORNETS PLAY IN NEW ORLEANS! GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: J | Apr 30, 2012 5:55:11 PM

Hire Phil Ford! He has decades of coaching experience, was part of the coaching staff that took the Bobcats to the playoffs, has a Carolina Connection, and would create some buzz (along with changing the name to the Hornets). This team doesn't need to spend a ton of money on a big-name coach - we need some coaches (and players) with something to prove.

Posted by: Jake Delaney | Apr 30, 2012 6:06:36 PM

Unless Silas gutted this team the wrong guy was fired.

Posted by: John | Apr 30, 2012 6:23:32 PM

WOW....SHOCKER!!!

Posted by: George | Apr 30, 2012 6:46:27 PM

Hey Rick,

Former NC State great Nate McMillan?!?!

What the hell are you talking about?!?!

He was at State for two years and averaged 8.5 points and 6 assists per game.

Posted by: Clay Aiken | Apr 30, 2012 7:04:43 PM

Lets hope Rod Higgins is next! My vote is for Nate McMillan.

Posted by: Chris | Apr 30, 2012 7:28:06 PM

Clay, clearly you never saw Nate play at NC State. He was a stud.

Posted by: George Hanson | Apr 30, 2012 7:58:13 PM

Good move for Paul and the Bobcats. I knew Paul back in the Hornets days. Class act. He is too old to have this kind of stress for a team who doesn't care. Paul, relax, enjoy your lake house. Take care, my friend.

Posted by: ncboatbum | Apr 30, 2012 8:09:58 PM

Yes, finally, there is a God!

Praise Jebus!

Posted by: District6 | Apr 30, 2012 8:14:00 PM

Another step. We have a real GM and soon a real coach. Eventually real players.

Posted by: Davey | Apr 30, 2012 8:16:43 PM

Put me down for Stan Van Gundy after Howard runs him out of Orlando. If he'd come, he's a Top 5 coach in the league.

Posted by: sfinsf | Apr 30, 2012 8:43:55 PM

this team never moves! people forget they have to buy the arena if they want to leave!

Posted by: joe cool | Apr 30, 2012 8:58:19 PM

Another vote for D'antoni!

Posted by: tony | Apr 30, 2012 10:37:27 PM

You people who blame Paul Silas must have forgot to take your medications if the Mikecats would of won 10 games, Silas should had won Coach of the Year with the lack of talent that was on this team. As for cheap MJ he should get a ring from the Spurs when they win the NBA Championship just like last year we gave Dallas Tyson Chandler to put them over the top. We gave away Stephan Jackson, and then gift wrap Bois Diaw for the Spurs to give them the quality depth they needed to rest Tim Duncan and the Spurs older players to be fresh in the playoffs to win another CHAMPIONSHIP. They went like the last 5 or 6 games without playing there 3 best players and won all of them. MJ should of traded Diaw for at least a 2nd round draft choice and a body just to make the trade work. Diaw was not going to play here with all the spare parts that MJ collected here (and I cannot say that I blame him) and MJ knew that but he was to cheap to spend some money, Remember Dante Cummingham how good would he have look here? for only 2.5 Million a year which is peanuts in the NBA instead we get Rod Higgins son. So Michael maybe the other Texas team San Antonio will do what Dallas should had done last year when they won give you another ring.